The Heroine: Twin Soul
by Louiii
Summary: Third story about the Heroine. Hyrule is now at peace and Link is happy with her life, especially sine she's engaged to Sheik. But soon things start go wrong again and Link finds herself fighting an enemy she's not sure she can defeat: herself.
1. Summer Days

**A/N: I'm Baaack! I couldn't keep you waiting any longer, so here it is, the first chapter in the third installment of The Heroine! It's called Twin Soul and… well, You'll see what happens eventually. Till then, please enjoy the first chapter! And please…tell me what you think!**

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**The Heroine: T****win Soul**

_Summer Days_

It was one of those warm summer days. The winds passing through Hyrule Field were warm, yet carried a soothing touch enough to cool those who were too hot. The sun was rolling high in the cloud free sapphire sky, and birds would every now and then pass through the air, singing happily.

No one would suspect that these lands had suffered a great war only a few months earlier. But if you looked close, you could see that the green lush grass had only just grown back, and the trees in the forest were still young. The country had only just recovered, and seemed to show it all off with a beautiful warm summer day.

A bumblebee settled upon a pale blue flower, which was growing near a set of bushes. It crawled deep within the leaves of the flower and there was a high-pitched buzz as it moved its wings against the plant. Also, a small brown bunny made his way over the field in careful leaps and stopped by the set of bushes as well, unaware of that he shared the spot with the bumblebee. Looking around, the bunny made sure it was safe before he bent down to nibble on some leaves which served as his lunch.

But then the bunny suddenly sat bolt upright, ears pricked straight up in clear alarm. He sat like this for a moment, listening intently, like he had heard something that scared him. Then he suddenly gave a jerk and took off in high speed over the field. The bumblebee though did not see the threat and finished his business at the flower to then casually buzz away. And not a second too late.

Suddenly the flower he had resided in only moments before got trampled by a horse's thundering hooves, being the threat the bunny had sensed. A young red stallion was galloping at a high speed over the plains. He was not very big, more built to be slender, with a slim neck and petite head. His coat was a mixture of red and brown, and his long curly mane was the purest of white. He was wearing a bridle and a rope fastened like reins, but they were hanging loosely over his neck since he had no rider.

Shortly after the horse had crushed the flowers, another horse followed. It was another stallion, with the exact same texture. Reddish coat with long white mane. But this horse was a little bit bigger, and built to give ultimate speed. Also this stallion had a rider. In his saddle was a young woman, or perhaps a girl, at seventeen years. Her blonde hair was fastened in a loose and untidy bun, and several strands of blonde hair hung down her back. She was clad in a pair of dark green shorts that reached to the middle of her thigh, and over them she wore a thin raspberry pink tunic. Her skin was tanned, thanks to the strong summer sun.

Apparently, the girl and her stallion were chasing the younger and smaller stallion. She narrowed her dark blue eyes as she drove on her horse, though she really didn't have to. Her horse was much faster than the younger one.

There was yet another horse following them, but this mare was more cantering than galloping at high speed. It was a light-built and slender mare, with beautiful features. Her face was petite like the first stallion, with a concave nose. Her coat was of a pale yellow, unlike the first horses, with white hocks. Her rider was a young man, clad in simple pants tucked into thin boots with a lose green shirt over. He tugged gently on the mare's reins, and she came to a halt just beside the trampled flower were the bumblebee had resided only moments before.

"No point in following them, Tzadek," the young man cooed to his horse. "They're too fast for us anyway."

Tzadek snorted eagerly, but stood still as her friend wanted, tossing her beautiful head, her cream-colored mane dancing. She knew her beauty and was showing it.

Further down the field the girl continued the chase after the young stallion.

"Come on, Epone, almost got him," she spurred her stallion, who was now almost side to side with the other horse.

As they caught up with him, the girl wasted no time. Without thinking twice, she leapt from Epone and landed on the back of the smaller horse. With a frightened whinny, the horse started prancing and bucking, doing everything in his might to get the sudden weight of his back.

"Oh, come on Angel! Don't act as if you're completely untamed," the girl grunted through gritted teeth, as she managed to sit up properly on the horse despite the fight he was putting up. But he had picked the wrong girl to fight with. Among many other rumors, the girl had a reputation for being one of the best riders throughout Hyrule. Angel soon gave up trying to force the girl of his back. But instead of giving in to the girl's will, Angel suddenly set off in fast gallop. The girl was forced to grab onto his mane in order not to fall off. She knew there was no sense in tugging on the 'reins'. Since there was no bit in his mouth there was no way Angel was going to stop.

Together with the boy on the other horse the girl had tried to tame Angel, but they didn't use a bit or a saddle yet, since the stallion had clearly showed what he thought of that. Kind of like how he was showing now how he didn't want to be ridden.

But the girl leaned back slightly and sat upon the horse as nothing was going to get her off. That is, until Angel suddenly took a sharp turn- as if he rounded a coin – and the sudden change of course caused the girl to tumble off the horse. But she still held on to the rope around the horse's neck. It had worked as reins, but as she tumbled off the knot on the bridle came loose and it became one long rope fastened to the bridle instead. Nonetheless, the girl held on and Angel dragged her over the field, showing no signs of slowing down. The girl knew there was a good chance that she would get hit by the horse's hooves, but at the same time she couldn't let go. There would be no catching him then. So she held on, hoping the horse would slow down.

It wasn't until a few minutes later that she noticed where the horse was heading. A small lake lay by the field, and Angel was heading straight towards the hill before it, where there was a rather long and sharp drop down to the water.

"Oh nononono… Angel _stop!" _the girl cried from her position on the ground. But the horse had every intention of stopping and promptly did so just before the lake. But that didn't mean the girl stopped. She was still at high speed, and there was simply nothing she could do as she slid past the horse and right over the edge of the hill. Her hands slipped around the rope and with a shriek she fell into the water, accompanied by a great _splash. _

Angel whinnied loudly by the cliff, as if laughing.

By now, the boy and his horse Tzadek had come up to them, followed by Epone. The boy dismounted his mare and quickly took Angel's rope and tied it to Tzadek's saddle. Then he turned his attention to the lake, where the girl had resurfaced. He couldn't help to break a smile at her disorientated splashing as she gasped for air.

"Gimel, I swear," the girl spluttered, but was forced to be silent as she was overwhelmed by a sudden cough attack, "I swear, if you're laughing at me…" her voice trailed off as she coughed again.

"…You'll do what?" the boy finished for her, and didn't even bother to hide the amusement in his voice.

The girl gave a frustrated snort before swimming to shore and heaving herself out of the water. She was dripping wet, the thin but now heavy clothes clinging to her small frame. The boy, Gimel, chuckled softly at her as he extended a hand to help her up a pair of boulders.

"Well, at least there's nothing wrong with your determination, Link," he added, and the girl's peeved expression slowly lightened until she was smiling at him.

"Oh, well," she finally sighed. "I guess I need to get back to the castle and change…" Then she squinted up at him, the noon sun striking her in the eyes. "You wanna come?"

Gimel was fumbling with Tzadek's saddle and considered her question as he mounted the horse. "No, I can't," he finally settled for saying. "I need to make sure the horses are okay…" he broke off as Angel suddenly gave a loud snort, clearly peeved with the whole situation. Gimel raised an eyebrow at the horse. "…and apparently Angel wants to go home too."

"See you tomorrow then?" Link had now mounted Epone and was looking expectantly at her friend.

"You know you will," the boy replied, straining his eyes slightly to see her as the wind ruffled his hair, annoyingly blowing in his eyes.

Link smiled and then watched as Gimel clicked his tongue, catching the attention of Tzadek and they trotted away towards a ranch. It was the Lon Lon Ranch, situated by the western part of the gigantic Hyrule Field. Gimel was the one running the ranch, where he bred horses. He had an incredible passion for horses, which was evident with his everlasting affection for Angel, whom clearly loathed the farmer.

Finally Epone grew impatient with just standing on the field as he turned his neck to nip softly at Link's leg, but hard enough for her to jolt and cry out.

"Hey! That was uncalled for," she whined, speaking to her horse like he was a friend just like Gimel. But the horse merely gave a happy squeal and then suddenly started trotting in a random direction.

"You are heartless, you know that?" Link pouted before regaining control of her horse again and gently nudging his side to change their course towards the north. There lay Hyrule Castle and below it the castle town. Or more like city.

There was always a slight dread in Link's heart when she entered through the gates to the city. She never knew if random people would come up to her and talk to her of even praise her. After all, Link was not only known as a skilled rider. No, whenever the name Link was mentioned, the word "Heroine" soon followed. That's the title Link carried, "The Heroine", thanks the Goddesses. She had been chosen by them to defeat the evils threatening Hyrule. She had already done so twice, fighting the evils in the world. Only, both of the times had the evil taken form as Ganondorf, the sworn enemy of Link. At least, according to the legend about her destiny.

At first, Link had several problems accepting her fate… or whatever one should call it. It was not so much the part that she had to defend Hyrule… she had years of practice and would rival even the best of swordsmen. Actually, Link kind of enjoyed fighting. It was a thrill, a dance with death, if you will.

But that was beside the point. What Link had troubles with was all the responsibilities coming with the title Hero. Everyone she knew… there was a threat to them. Link had brought her friends danger.

But on late days, Link had finally come to accept those terms. She could protect her friends if anything happened. She could let herself be selfish and care for them.

Nowadays, the only Heroine-related problem was… the fame. It was weird; the way people in streets could shout her name and chase her just to speak to her for a moment. If not that, they would settle for staring at her and whispering. It was starting to wear her out. But soon enough, she figured they would accept it, pretty much as she had.

Epone had soon carried her halfway through the city until the girl snapped back from her thoughts. She was as always aware of the people staring at her, but today she figured that was mostly because she was still soaking wet. And even though the summer sun was burning, she was starting to shiver, so she urged Epone to a trot through the city.

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"Ouch!"

Link cried out and swore loudly and deeply, causing the Queen of Hyrule, Zelda, to look up from her book and eye her accusingly. The Heroine muttered an apology, before occupying herself again with the piece of wood in her lap, which she had been trying to carve a figure out of for the last hour. Zelda however, did not return to her book, but rested her worried glance on Link. The girl wore an expression of utter concentration as she used a knife to carve out a figure that seemed to resemble a horse, but Zelda wasn't sure.

"Er… Link?" the Queen asked her friend carefully, a nervous tone to her usual secure voice.

"Mhm?" Link replied absentmindedly, still furiously carving at the wood.

"Are you sure that's… safe?"

At Zelda's words, Link's gaze immediately snapped to the woman, who tried to look innocently curious in her pale red dress, but Link saw right through her.

"Oh no, you don't," Link warned, "you don't get to ask me that." She raised the knife so that it was at Zelda's eyelevel. But the threatening gesture was slightly ruined due to the fact that Link was sitting several meters away from Zelda. Actually, casually sprawled out in a stone bench was more like it. What's more, Link was not looking the least bit threatening; she was actually looking very beautiful in her long blonde bright honey colored hair and deep blue eyes. She had changed out of her wet clothes, and was currently clad in a pale thin green dress. It was unusual to see Link clad in a dress, she usually preferred pants and a shirt. But it was so hot that she had chosen to wear a short sleeve-less dress, the skirt reaching her knees. Also, Link's beauty seemed to intensify with the lovely scenic around her. They were in one of the gardens of the castle, and the green nature and golden light brought out the emerald-like color in Link's dress and the soft blonde shade of her hair.

"_You _were the one who said I needed to be more creative. _You _said that sword fighting was barbaric and that I needed to get in touch with my 'artistic' side," Link continued, still glaring at Zelda.

Zelda's innocent façade faded and she heaved a sigh. "I... know." Then she stole a glance at the supposed-to-be horse in horse in Link's lap, and she drew a breath. "Clearly I was wrong. Maybe you should stick to sword fighting," she then added.

Link snorted and quickly put away the piece of wood, but as she did her gaze fastened on something sparkling on her left hand. At the sight of her engagement ring, Link heaved a dreamy sigh. Zelda looked up again, recognizing that sigh all too well. After all, Link did it almost every time she caught sight of the thin golden ring around her left ring finger, and Zelda couldn't help to give a small sigh at for once seeing her friend completely happy. As far as Zelda knew Link had one weakness.

And his name was Sheik.

She suspected they had loved each other from the first moment they met, and though they'd had slight troubles in the past they were now to be married. And Zelda was really happy for them. Her two best friends were getting married. Who wouldn't be happy?

But Zelda however, was eyeing Link with a suspicious glance. Like mentioned, she recognized that sigh. And the argument that usually followed. And as if on queue, Link heaved another sigh.

"Zelda, is there really a law that forbids people to marry before they're eighteen?"

"Yes," Zelda replied bored. She had been having this argument _far _too many times the last few months.

"But Sheik is 22! Doesn't that count?"

"No," Zelda replied in the same indifferent voice.

"But you're the Queen! Why don't you change that law?"

"Because," Zelda said, finally looking up and meeting her friend's gaze, "I do not want you to marry before you are eighteen, Link. Besides, it's only three months away."

The scowl entering Link's face hinted that some yelling was about to take place, and Zelda braced herself. Sometimes she wished she _would_ change the law, just to stop these silly arguments. But Zelda was trying to prove a point.

"You don't want me to marry Sheik, is that it?" Link said in voice that was quickly rising in volume.

"_No," _Zelda replied with emphasis. Since when did people in love become so hard to reason with? "I just want you to have time to think before you do this, that's all."

"So you think I'm making a _mistake?" _Link's voice grew shrill as she jumped to her feet, and Zelda mentally rolled her eyes. Really, what had happened to Link the last few months? She was so in love it was almost… unbearable.

Zelda calmly got to her feet and strode forth to Link, taking her by the shoulders to calm her friend, and Link's gaze fastened on Zelda.

"Link," Zelda said with a firm voice, "you are not making a mistake. I know how much you love him and you are both my friends so I love you both. I really do believe you are making the right choice." Zelda's features then softened as she had proved to Link that she wasn't against her. "But you are only seventeen, Link. I ask you to only wait three_ months." _She dared a smile. "And then we will both know you are not making a mistake."

A beat passed between them. Then Link heaved a sigh, letting her gaze drop. "I know," she admitted grudgingly. "You're right. It's just…" she looked up at Zelda again, her gaze strangely open and raw, "…I love him so much it almost hurts. And if someone criticizes our love… I fight for it, you know?" she said and offered a crooked smile.

Zelda mirrored her smile and let her hands fall to her side as Link broke from her grip and walked towards the window – or more like the opening in the beautiful stone wall surrounding the garden – and leaned to the windowsill. She drummed her fists loosely at the stone in an impatient manner.

"And where _is _Sheik, anyway?" she demanded, and Zelda – who had returned to her book, sighed frustrated and looked up.

"He's _still _out with Kratos inspecting the southern border, and he was doing it the first hundred times you asked too."

Link stubbornly ignored Zelda's grumpy answer, and continued explaining her woes. "And why didn't I come with him? He didn't ask me, but I know he wanted me there-"

"He _did_ ask you and you didn't even _want _to go. Besides, Gimel asked you to help at his ranch," Zelda pointed out airily, but Link kept ignoring her.

"And he's been gone for _ages-" _

"Three days."

"-_ages _and it's driving me nuts!" Link finally noticed Zelda as she turned to her with a hint of desperation to her aura.

Zelda's eyes widened. "My Goddess," she said, "you really _are _a fool of love." Then she lit up in a grin, enjoying how she could tease the Heroine.

But Link was taking it seriously as she sunk to the ground. "I really am, aren't I?"

Zelda drew a breath, about to reply when suddenly, a shrill whinny loud through the air. Zelda's eyebrows knitted together in confusion as she tried to place the horse the whinny belonged to. But Link immediately recognized it. With a delighted squeal she dashed out the garden.

It was then Zelda realized whose horse it was and she could not help to offer a smile herself. She put down her book and got to her feet, following Link.

As Link emerged from the gardens out to the hill before the castle she spotted a rider, galloping up the path to the castle. He sat upon a great black stallion that was moving with more grace than his strength suggested. The rider was a young man, with tanned skin and eastern features. His tousled hair was the same black color as the horse's polished charcoal shade, except for the front stripes in the man's hair. His bangs were a peculiar color of crimson red, creating a contrast to his dark oak colored eyes.

When the man spotted Link, he lit up in a handsome smile. "Well, if it isn't Link," he said in a cheerful voice. Link used her hand to shade her gaze as she cupped it over her eyes, squinting them at the man. "Kratos! Did everything…"

But her voice trailed off as she spotted another rider who became visible on a path from where Link stood. The horse was a beautiful mare, smaller than the previous black stallion, with a more slender form. Her coat was a dark spotted grey, with a darker long curly mane and dark intelligent eyes. But she was a nervous horse, and she was prancing on the spot, rearing while trying to escape her rider's grip. But her rider was calm with a soft grip around her reins. Using a soft and soothing voice, he gently calmed his horse, enough for her to lower her head again and advance forward. The rider was concentrating so much on his horse that he failed to notice Link and Zelda and the other rider, who had now dismounted his black stallion.

The rider on the gray mare was also a young man, but of a different race than the first man. He was a Sheikah, and his name was Sheik. The very same Sheik Link loved.

The Heroine broke into a run as she spotted her love. Sheik's blond unruly hair hung into his eyes as he looked down at his own horse. His eyes were probably the most fascinating part about him, at least according to Link. They were of a deep red, like deep pools of blood. But they possessed a softness and honesty that no one could quite explain. Link only knew that she loved it.

The Sheikah managed to get his horse to a halt, and dismounted with one swift movement. He was wearing dark pants tucked into thin boots, with a dusty white shirt thrown over it all. Link had no idea how he avoided to melt away with sweat in this warm day. But then again, he was a Sheikah, and they were after all a bit mysterious. Alright, very mysterious then.

But as Link neared him, she saw that he had unbuttoned his shirt to reveal a bit of his tanned chest – that was gleaming slightly with sweat. But it also revealed a bit of a tattoo Sheik had on the left part of his chest. It was the sign of the Sheikahs – an eye in rough black lines lined with thick lashes, with a thick tear frozen just below it.

As Link reached the Sheikah she stopped in front of him. She knew he knew she was there – the Sheikah could always sense presences in some mysterious way. So Sheik looked up and fastened his piercing gaze on her blue eyes. Link felt her heart swell up in an impossible size as she smiled a little at him. She was just about to say something along the lines of "you're back," – when the Sheikah promptly let go of his mare's reins and walked up the Heroine, and gently cupped her face with his warm hands and kissed her.

And his kisses had the amazing talent to take Link's breath away and make her knees go all weak. And the only way to keep herself steady was to throw her arms around Sheik's neck and kiss him some more. Sheik's hands slid around her waist as he pulled back his head a little, to rest his forehead against Link's.

"I've missed you," he murmured, in a surprisingly soft voice.

Link grinned a little and looked up at him – he was, after all, several inches taller than she was, and said in a voice filled with mock scorn, "What took you so long?"

Sheik's lips widened into a grin as he pressed his lips to hers again and kissed her.

Back up on the hill Zelda and Kratos were watching the two lovers. They shared a meaning look and then cracked identical smiles, thinking the same thing. Of course, they were happy for them both and they just looked so… happy.

"So," Kratos then started, grabbing the reins to his horse before focusing his gaze to Zelda again, "when are you going to say you missed me?"

It was funny, Link thought later on. In this moment, she actually considered things – for the first time in a very long time – to be alright. She considered herself to be completely happy.

But back then she hadn't known. She hadn't known that shortly after this, her happy days… her joyful summer days would come to an abrupt end.

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**A/N: Alrighty folks, let me see those reviews! **


	2. Shadows from Within

**The Heroine: Twin Soul**

_Shadows from Within_

The sky was still clear, though it was in the middle of the night. The moon stood high, like a sphere of light among twinkling stars. It was silent, save for the occasional hoot from the owl.

The night lay over Hyrule Castle, like hand covering a mouth. A soft breeze found its way through the open window in Link's room, catching on to the thin white curtain causing it to flutter ever so lightly.

But even though the night was calm and peaceful, Link was not.

_She smashed head first into the wall, feeling a wound slash up on her forehead. Drifting slowly away from the wall, she felt warm blood oozing down her temple, as she tried to block the pain out. _

She turned in her bed, the sheets twisting themselves around her body as she did.

_Snapping back, she shook her head slightly to revive herself and with the back of her hand wiped the blood away from her forehead, raising her eyes. Ganondorf rolled his eyes slightly to himself. _

"_Why do you even try? In case you haven't noticed, this is a battle you cannot win," he said lazily, eyeing her with a raised eyebrow. _

_Despite the blood and slight dizziness in her head, Link cracked a grin. "Nonetheless… I can try."_

The nightmare caused her body to gleam slightly with sweat and she was panting, like she was in a battle. The same battle she had been fighting just a few months ago.

_But it was then Ganondorf growled, and with surprisingly quick movements grabbed her hand with the sword with his left hand. Then with his right hand he grasped his fingers around his neck. Tight. Tighter. Link gasped for air, dropping the Master Sword, which still stayed afloat in the void. _

Her movements got fiercer and she trashed around in the bed, like she was being strangled for real, trying to struggle against the grip.

_She struggled against his tight grip, at the same time choking. _I… need…to…breathe!_ But as his grip tightened even more she felt another threat. He was going to crush her neck. Increasing her struggle, she fought him, until she could see the edges of her vision blurring, turning black…_

Suddenly Link awoke, snapping her eyes open and sitting up with a gasp. She grabbed her throat, trying to free it from the pressure. But there was no hand there, no Ganondorf…

It took her some time to identify herself. She was in her room, in the castle. Safe. It took some time to get her ragged breathing back to normal, but she was wide awake.

She threw away the covers, unable to sleep any longer, and went on bare feet over the stone floor to her window. She was safe, she told herself. Ganondorf was dead. Only she didn't' feel safe. And now she knew why.

Because Ganondorf wasn't dead. Because she could not remember how that battle had ended. Therefore she had no way of knowing if he really was dead. Everyone assumed he was because Link had told them so, but… She leaned her forearms against the windowsill and rested her forehead against the cold stone. No matter how hard she had tried she couldn't remember her last fight with Ganondorf. So she had stopped trying. But the nightmares didn't.

Link sunk to her knees as she lifted her head to look at the night sky. She didn't want to feel like this. All these pent up anxiety inside of her. Why couldn't she just be happy, like everyone else? But the more Link ignored it, the worse it got. The only way to stop it… was to uncover what really happened with Ganondorf. But Goddess knows Link didn't want to.

Making up her mind about it, Link decided she would do something about it in the morning. She was tired of being tormented by something that should have ended long ago. She scrambled to her feet, feeling miserable and tired. But it only took her one glance at her bed to realize that she didn't want to get back to sleep and nightmares. Instead she grabbed a wool scarf, threw it around her shoulders and carefully creaked open her door. She knew it wasn't approved of walking through the castle's corridors through night so she sneaked forth best she could. This was one of the reasons as to why Link preferred sleeping at the Lon Lon ranch. There she could wake up in the middle of the night and go outside and sit on her favorite spot – the rooftop – and reflect over things until the sun awoke and stretched its arms over the horizon. And no one would care.

Also, the castle was cold at night, even though it was summer, and Link hugged the scarf closer to her thin frame as she progressed through the corridors. But at the same time, the castle had one huge advantage: Sheik.

Link found herself outside his door and she carefully pushed it open, not making a noise. She peeked her head inside the dark room. "Sheik?"

In the dim light the moonlight offered, Link could see that Sheik's bed was empty. Frowning, she went in and softly closed the door behind her. His room was slightly larger than hers, but with the same stone walls and appearance. A large bed stood by the northern wall and close by was a desk and a chair. An open book lay upon the table with a pen close by, like someone had been writing in it not long ago. Link raised her eyes and found that the wall behind the table was covered by a bookcase crammed with books. She couldn't help to wonder if Sheik had read them all.

A gentle wind from her left caught her attention and she turned in said direction to look out at the balcony. Thin white curtains marked the doorway, dancing slowly in the soft wind. Through the thin fabric of the curtains Link spotted a dark figure standing with his back to Link, looking out over Hyrule field.

Letting the scarf drop to the floor, and wearing nothing but her thin pale green nightgown, Link slowly walked through the curtains and into the night.

He stood by the balcony's railing, wearing nothing but lose black trousers. Even though Link couldn't see his face she knew the Sheikah's eyes were closed. She often found him standing out in the night, meditating.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" he asked in his soft voice.

"Shouldn't you?" Link countered. She liked answering his questions with questions in hopes to throw him off. But she never succeeded.

The Sheikah opened his eyes, just as Link walked around and positioned herself in front of him, sitting on the railing. He lowered his soft red gaze until it locked onto her intense blue eyes.

"Why are you up?" he asked her, but somehow it sounded like he already knew. That was the mystery with Sheik; Link never knew how much he actually knew.

She chose to be silent, instead of telling him about her nightmare. She didn't want him to worry. She didn't want anyone to worry, for that matter.

Instead she lowered her eyes until they rested upon the tattoo he had on the left part of his tanned chest. She traced it with her fingers, gently touching the dark lines. Then she carefully let her fingers wander over his stomach until they reached the right side of it. There Sheik had a long scar, left from the war. All the while Sheik watched while she did this, but as she caressed his scar he caught her hand in his palm, stopping her.

She raised her eyes again, but found that Sheik was not looking at her. Instead he was looking at her hand, where he was caressing the ring he had given her not too long ago.

Link took his other hand, bringing him closer to her as entwined their hands, looking at her ring.

"Do you love me, Sheik?" Link whispered, so close that she could kiss him if she only lifted her head a little.

The Sheikah looked back at her, offering a small smile.

"… I do love you," he whispered back in a voice that couldn't have been more truthful. Then he placed his lips upon hers, giving her a soft kiss…

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Link got up early the next morning, a little before dawn. She quickly dressed in knee-long bone-white shorts, over which she wore a dark green tank top and a big paler green tunic, in a very thin material. She exited her room, and on bare feet she jogged through the corridor from her room, her black sandals in her right hand as she simultaneously tried to tie her hair back into a plait. Failing significantly she abandoned her attempt to tame her hair and elected to have it down, even though it was beginning to grow so long that it bothered her. Then she continued her jog down the corridor, down the great stairs until she reached the bottom landing.

Then, making sure no one saw her, Link made her way into the great throne room. She wasn't sure it was approved of girls wandering into the Queen's office every now and then. But Link was not after Zelda's secret plans. She wanted something entirely else.

The room was rather large and airy, with a large throne by the northern windows. A long red carpet ran from the small set of stairs where the throne stood to the doors where Link stood. Carefully, she closed the great wooden doors behind her and then strode over the carpet. When she reached the centre of the room she stopped and crouched down, lifting the rug at the edge, revealing a hidden hatch. With some effort she managed to lift the heavy stone hatch fully and leapt down into the darkness.

She landed in a small dim lit room, with only a torch to light up the space. Right in front of Link was a statue, carved to resemble the Hero in the legend. The Hero Link was said to be. She lost her footing in the jump, but as she got her knees her eyes caught sight of the statue. It was of a young man, standing proud with sword raised. Link got to her feet, barely reaching the waist of the large statue. There was something that squirmed inside of Link as she looked at the tall male. The legend went that it was a Hero… not a Heroine. Through time, Link had not only received praise from the people of Hyrule. She knew there would always be people who doubted her skill… who looked down upon her because she was a woman.

Setting her jaw, Link chose to ignore her morbid thoughts and the statue, so she walked past the statue and continued down a broad set of stairs made out of a pale grey marble. The soles of her sandals echoed as she now found herself in a much larger chamber, all made out of the same pale marble. It was a beautiful large chamber, with a high ceiling. The walls had no windows, no curtains nor paintings, which was why Link's footsteps echoed throughout the chamber as she walked over the stone floor, her course heading towards an archway to the north of the room.

Not many knew of this place. In fact, Link believed she was the only living soul that had set her foot in her for over a century. It was the Temple of Time.

Despite lacking windows, the building was strangely illuminating some kind of light. Link wasn't surprised; she knew magic existed in her world. Zelda wielded some powerful magic, and Link was sure that she hadn't even seen the Queen's full potential, and Sheik used magic, mostly to heal wounds. Even Link possessed some magic. She suspected it had something to do with her being chosen by the Goddesses and her part of the Triforce. Of course, the Triforce was safely in the Sacred Realm, but Link was the chosen carrier of the Triforce of Courage.

So a building with light coming from an unseen source hardly made the top three of Link's list of strangest sights. Therefore she calmly continued her walk and reached the archway within moments.

The archway was rid of all light, so the Heroine strolled through darkness for a moment until she entered a new chamber. This one was not as large as the first one and had a different shape. It was completely round, the walls formed in a delicate circle. Like the first chamber, this room was completely rid of windows and curtains. However, there was one small window higher up the northeast wall. A bright ray of sunlight shone into the chamber, even though dawn had not yet come. Again, Link thought with a wry smile, it was magic.

The pillar of light hit a platform, situated in the centre of the room. The Triforce was carved into the marble surface; three triangles connecting each other to from one large triangle. In the centre of the symbol there was pedestal, in which a sword rested.

It was what Link had come down here for.

Moving forward, Link walked up the platform, her eyes fastened on the sword. A long time had passed since she had set eyes upon her sword. After the war she had put it back in the pedestal, hoping in a way she would never need it again. But something inside Link was drawn to it. In a way, she loved the Master Sword.

But at this moment she needed it for a different purpose. Ever since last night she hadn't been able to keep her nightmare from her thoughts, therefore she had decided to talk to someone who might know something about it.

The Sages.

They dwelled in the Sacred Realm, where the Triforce resided. There was no natural passage from Link's world into the Sacred Realm. Zelda could travel there by mere will, and Link suspected Sheik had some way of entering it too. It wasn't until recently that Link had discovered that she too could travel to the Sacred Realm with the aid of a key. Which was in the shape of a sword.

Casting her glance upwards for a brief moment, Link then positioned herself in front of her sword. She confidently reached out to grab her sword with her right hand, and was surprised to find the hilt warm even though it had been untouched for months.

"Well…" she said, eyeing what was her friend, "you know where to go."

With a groan she then drove the sword upwards, out of the pedestal. No sooner had she done this as a bright light surrounded her. She felt herself lifting and leaving the ground, and was sucked into another world…

------

Moments later, Link gracefully landed upon a platform, similar to the one she had just left. She found herself staring into a void of darkness. The platform was floating in what seemed like nothing, a gigantic space that seemed to have no end.

She walked to the edge of the platform – that also had a Triforce mark carved into its surface – and looked down. There was nothing she could see save for darkness. She could not see the world she had come from.

She was in the Sacred Realm.

Once here, she could find the Sages and ask her about her nightmares. Maybe they could see something that she couldn't in this. Perhaps they knew what had happened.

"Link?"

The Heroine immediately recognized the voice. It was the voice of the friendly angel named Gilraen, who happened to be the Sage of Light, and also the leader of the Sages.

A smile entered her face; it had been so long since she had seen him. She turned, and found him standing by the other end of the platform. He looked over-worthily with his long brown robes and shining white wings folded together by his back. He was wearing a smile on his lips, like he shared Link's feelings.

But as she raised her eyes to look into his pale grey eyes – almost silver-like - the smile immediately faded.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded in a voice completely rid of all warmth.

Link furrowed her brow in utter confusion. She actually looked behind her to see if the angel was talking to someone else. But behind her was nothing but the dark void. So she turned back to Gilraen, wearing an uncertain smile as if suspecting him of teasing her.

"Gilraen, what…"

"You are not allowed here!"

The smile faded from Link's lips as the Sage's shouting started to scare her a little.

"But I've been here before, that-"

"Be gone, Evil!" Gilraen shouted so loud that Link backed instinctively.

_Evil? What is he talking about? _"Gilraen, it is me, Link, I-"

"What have you done?" Gilraen lowered his voice to a hiss. "You try to fool us by taking the Heroine's form, but I can see your soul and that darkness is umistakable. I assure you… one does not fool the Sages!"

Panic rose in Link's heart as she took a step forward to Gilraen.

"But-"

But she never finished her sentence. That was because Gilraen suddenly shot out his palms towards her and with a bolt of light hit her, sending her flying backwards, over the edge of the platform. And so Link fell screaming down the void, further and further, until the platform disappeared from her view. Then everything turned black around her.

As Link was sure that she was going to fall forever, she felt a strange sensation; like she passed through water. Then her surroundings changed; the darkness was replaced by gray marble walls. She was back in the Temple of Time.

Only too late did she realize that she was still falling. With a hard crash Link made impact on the ground. Which of course had to be stone. She tumbled over the floor until she made another hard impact with the wall and she came to an abrupt halt. She was in such a shock that she couldn't even find thoughts at first.

_Ouch. _

She felt like she had been smashed into a million pieces, but as she managed to crawl to her feet she was amazed to feel that nothing was broken. Or so she hoped, at least. But she was going to have bruises, lots of them too.

Tentatively taking a step further into the room Link then raised her gaze to the ceiling. _Just what the hell was that all about? "Be gone, Evil…" that had been his words. But why? _

Link had no answers to her questions. Only more questions. Gilraen had seen her as evil. Only she couldn't begin to fathom why.

Heaving a heavy sigh Link located the Master Sword lying on the floor a few feet ahead of her. She decided it was best she put it back. So with slow steps – and increasing pain – she limped towards it and bent down to pick it up.

Only when she grazed the hilt with the fingers she felt such an excruciating pain that it could only be true hell. Shrieking she immediately pulled back, falling to the floor once again.

Panting with shock she stared with fright at the Master Sword that now lay innocently at the floor.

At least she now had one answer to her all questions. Or not answer, per se. More like an unmistakable feeling that something was very, _very _wrong.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry the chapter was a bit on the short side. I didn't want to add anything since I believe this chapter was rather compact, also, if I were to add anything else to it it would've lost its dark tone. I hope you all like it and tell me what you think with one of those nice little reviews ******


	3. Love's Mystery

**A/N: I'm sorry I haven't updated in forever! It seems my inspiration saw fit to take a vacation during the summer as well… But alas! It returned long enough for me to finish the chapter, so enjoy!**

* * *

**The Heroine: Twin Soul**

_Love's Mystery_

The sun had slowly made its everyday journey over the sky and was now slowly descending. The bottom had already reached the horizon and as a result the sky had turned a delicate shade of pink. Another cloud-less and warm summer day had come to and end.

The sun reflected in the pale blue eyes of Zelda. She was standing by the window in her office overlooking Hyrule Field. Heaving a tired sigh she leaned her forearms to the windowsills, heaving all her weight upon them. Reaching up behind her hair she pulled out one slick black pin from her hair, and as a result her long blond hair fell down her shoulders in straight golden waves.

It had been another long day as a Queen. One might not notice it, but there was still much to do even though the land was in peace. Buildings still needed repair after the war, and practically every village in the land needed repair after attacks from enemy armies. Closing her eyes, Zelda let the soothing air gently touch her skin.

"Troubles?" a voice asked.

Zelda opened her eyes again. She would recognize the deep voice of Kratos anywhere.

"No," she replied with another sigh as he came up beside her, mirroring her pose by resting his forearms to the stone surface of the window sill.

Normally a person would not simply come up to the Queen like this without any guards in the room and without permission. But then Kratos was not just any person. He was one of the Queen's best friends. And perhaps even more than that.

She turned her head and regarded her friend with wise eyes. He was looking out over the green field, the wind catching onto his hair – which had grown to the longish side over the summer – and sending it fluttering around his dark brown eyes. One peculiar detail about the man was that his bangs made a sharp contrast from his otherwise black hair and was instead a deep crimson red, making a smooth contrast to his tanned face. He had high cheekbones and a wide mouth, which seemed to carry a grin at all times. Overall his features seemed to carry such a look that suggested he might originally be from the far east and not from Hyrule.

"It's just," Zelda started, turning her gaze back to the field below them, "sometimes it can be very tiresome being a Queen."

Unlike Kratos, Zelda's features were soft and delicate. Her face was heart-shaped, with pale yet smooth skin and full pink lips. Upon her golden head she wore a peculiar-looking tiara; it was shaped to look like golden cords braided into her hair with small sapphires molded into the golden metal. She was wearing a beautiful dress, its color matching the reddening sky.

"Well, nonetheless," Kratos then said, breaking the sudden silence and turning his ink-colored gaze to her, "you're doing a marvelous work so far," he added with his usual smirk.

Smiling at the very Kratos-like comment, Zelda gently put her petite hand upon his cheek in an affectionate gesture and felt a harsh contrast between her soft palm and his two-day beard stubble. But it wasn't necessarily a bad contrast.

The man looked at her for a moment and a silence fell. Normally Kratos never hesitated to kiss a woman. But those women had not been Queens. And he hadn't felt the same way about them as he did about Zelda.

Of course, Kratos knew he could be hanged for this kind of behavior with the Queen, but that was not what frightened him. The problem was, he knew that he – nothing but a common warrior who frequently found himself on the wrong side of the law – and a Queen was nothing that was approved of.

"So it you're trying to tell me that your work is boring…" he instead said, the smirk entering his face again, "maybe we should do something to cheer you up."

Zelda raised an eyebrow in confusion. She knew the activities that Kratos found funny was considered dangerous in other people's eyes.

"What's that?" she asked suspiciously.

His dark eyes ignited with a playful sparkle.

"Have you ever ridden across Hyrule Field in the middle of the night?"

-------------------------------------------

"_You try to fool us by taking the Heroine's form…." _

Night had now fallen over Hyrule, like the lid over a box, and all was calm. It was silent, save for the occasional gushes of cool wind.

Link was standing on the balcony outside Sheik's room, staring into the dark void that was the night, and was feeling just as dark.

She still managed to maintain the façade that everything was alright. That she was at peace. But on the inside she was pent-up with anxiety.

"_But I can see your soul and that darkness is unmistakable." _

Link shuddered, though the night was rather mild. The Sages thought she was someone else… the Master Sword had suddenly rejected her… was it possible that her troubles had originated from something _inside _her? From her soul? The Master sword would only accept the Hero as its master. But if didn't accept Link anymore… did that mean that she wasn't the Hero anymore? Was she… something else?

"_Be gone, Evil!" _

Those had been Gilraen's words, and a dread washed over Link. Somehow, this was all connected to what Ganondorf had done to her up in the Sacred Realm. He had done something to her, something that involved her as a Hero. …Maybe she would be able to figure it all out if she wasn't suffering from this strange amnesia.

Heaving a terminated sigh, she decided she would continue her secret investigation the following morning.

"And to what do I owe this pleasant surprise?"

Sheik's soft voice filled her ears, and it was as if her previous thoughts were blown away with a fresh gush of cool wind. A smile crept onto her lips as she turned around. The Sheikah was leaning to the frame of the door leading to the balcony, arms crossed and wearing a slight smile on his lips. Shadows created by the night covered his eyes so Link was unable to read them.

"Where have you been all day?" Link asked as she walked over to him, her thin dark blue dress fluttering over her body as she did. She still hadn't bothered to tie up her hair and it softly danced over her back as the wind caught on to it.

"Where have I been?" Sheik asked, his tone a little surprised. "_You _are the one no one's seen for the entire day."

Link mentally frowned. She should have known she was getting that question. True, she hadn't been around at all after her encounter with the Sages. Mostly because she didn't want to speak to anyone about her problems. She had, after all, been very shocked by the turn of events. After the Master Sword had rejected her she had left it exactly as it was, lying on the stone floor in the old Temple of Time. After all, it wasn't as if she could simply pick it up and put it back. She didn't dare to touch it again.

Apparently noticing her absentminded state, Sheik suddenly reached out and edged his arms around her waist, pulling her towards him. She snapped back to reality and nestled her face into his chest through his slightly unbuttoned white shirt. He was warm, like always.

"Well, I'm sorry for being away," she said in a muffled voice, and then pulled back little to look into his eyes. They were now free from shadows and Link could once again drown in their deepness. But she didn't do it for long, on account of Sheik suddenly placing his lips upon hers. They were warm, and whatever troubles Link had before were now completely forgotten.

"That's why I… thought I'd… come by….your room before… I went to bed," she tried to explain in between kisses.

"Is that so?" Sheik asked, but his lips never leaving Link's. Suddenly there was a harsh wind and Link couldn't help to shiver a little. Sheik noticed this and suddenly – in one swift movement – wrapped his arms around her legs and waist and scooped her up. A little surprised, Link gave a yelp and clanged onto his neck as he carried her inside instead.

Inside, he gently let her down by the side of her bed, and they shared a long kiss before Link parted.

It was usually around now that they parted for the night. Both of them knew Zelda – the ever traditional Queen – didn't approve of them getting…intimate before their wedding. Therefore Link often had to use her most advanced sneaking techniques to get into Sheik's room at evenings. But still, it was seldom they got further than this.

"Well… I better go to bed now," Link said in a defeated voice and squeezed the Sheikah's hand. But as she turned around to leave she was stopped by a tug on her dress. She stopped, looking back.

Sheik was sitting on the edge of the bed, his right hand grasping the thin hem of her dress holding a steady gaze with her. It was hard to miss the mischievous sparkle in his red eyes. He tugged harder on her dress and she was forced to draw nearer to him, until he could grasp the front of her dress and pull her down into another kiss.

"Or you could stay," he whispered, to which Link reacted with a smile.

"…I thought you would never ask."

She stood up while he sat, their kiss slowly deepening. His fingers trailed along the back of her knees, slowly sliding up her thighs, until he suddenly pulled her towards him. This move forced her to sit down and straddling him. His hands didn't leave her however, and kept trailing up under her dress in a manner that sent shivers down her spine. Link wasn't so innocent either, as her fingers moved swiftly to unbutton his shirt, suddenly leaving his torso bare.

It was as if it sparked something through the Sheikah since he– in a move that could only have been fueled by passion – suddenly grabbed her and threw her onto the bed so suddenly that she yelped a surprised cry. He grinned and responded by putting his lips on hers.

Link's hands roamed over his naked upper body as she at the same time was pinned to the bed by the weight of his body. His hands grabbed onto her dress and suddenly pulled it over her head, leaving her naked. At first she gasped as the cold air hit her bare skin, but the heat from Sheik's body quickly warmed her. She reached up and pulled him towards her, into another kiss…

--------------------------------

_Pain. _

_At least, that's what she felt as Ganondorf suddenly grabbed hold of her shirt, hitting her square in her left temple with his fist. Without a word, he loosened his fingers around her shirt, and she slumped to the ground, and this time, she didn't get up. _

_Ganondorf floated down to the platform, towering above her broken frame, looking at her indifferently. He had succeeded in angering her to the point where she lost control of herself and he had easily grabbed the upper hand of the battle. _

_Now that she was weak enough… he could make his move. _

_He extended his large foot, pushing her so that she lay on her back, and he could see that she was still alive and also, conscious. Good. He couldn't afford to kill her. Then his efforts would be wasted. _

_Her fading dark blue eyes rested upon him, not even bothering to muster the rage in them she always saved for him. They were emotionless, and one would think Link was dead, if she was not breathing in ragged breaths. _

'…_What a pitiful excuse for a Heroine you are,' Ganondorf suddenly said. It wasn't a sarcastic comment or tease, it was just a plain statement. _

'…_save me the mockery and just kill me,' Link croaked, her voice faint. It was no use fighting anymore. Her hope had left her. _

'_I am not going to kill you,' Ganondorf stated flatly_

Link shot open her eyes with a sharp intake of breath. It was dark around her and she was unable to focus her gaze. Where was she?

It took her some time to adjust her eyes to the darkness, but before that she felt the warmth coming from beneath her. She turned her head and realized that she was lying in bed, resting her head on Sheik's bare chest.

She suddenly edged away – careful not to wake him – and left the bed.

She suddenly felt afraid. Very afraid. Because if she couldn't even escape the nightmares when she was in the safest spot possible – in Sheik's arms – then there was no escaping those nightmares _at all. _

She reached the balcony and sat down upon the railing. A tear found its way down her cheek, and she couldn't help to feel helpless. Why was this happening to her? Hadn't she done everything in her power to make sure Hyrule was safe? But no, she had to be tormented. She hung her head, her hair falling over her face. It was not fair.

-----------------------------------

"You look tired."

"Do I?"

Gimel stopped unsaddling Tzadek to turn his bright emerald gaze to Link. It was worried. "Is everything alright?"

For a fraction of a moment Link debated whether to tell her best friend everything but quickly decided against it. He shouldn't worry for her. She plastered a smile onto her face. "No, not at all. Everything's peachy."

She cringed at her own words. _Peachy? _Since when did she use _that_ word? Gimel seemed to realize this as well as he shot her a strange look and Link felt her spirit falter a little. Goddess, she was such a terrible liar.

"Hey guys," a voice suddenly said from above them, catching the pair's attention. A woman proud with wings were nearing them from above in the air. She flapped her wings as she landed in front of them, scaring Angel who tore himself from Link's lose grip and cantered a few steps away from them.

"I guess Angel still has an…issue with you, Chiyo," Link said with a lopsided smile as she watched the young horse snort indignantly at them.

Chiyo sighed sadly. "I wish he didn't. He's such a sweet little horse."

Gimel and Link shared an incredulous look. "Sweet?" Link scoffed. "That'll be the day."

Chiyo smiled sweetly and merely shrugged for answer. Link mentally raised an eyebrow at the girl. It was strange; just months before Chiyo had been hell-bent on killing Link, convinced that the Heroine was the source of the angel's problems in life. But now… she was one of the nicest people Link had met. Though there was a small part of her that was still insulted from Chiyo's assassination days - and was only a little smug that Angel still hadn't accepted the angel.

With a sigh Link made her way over to Angel, who by now had accepted her as one of his master – though not without will. The stallion snorted as Link absentmindedly patted his neck as she stole a glance at Chiyo. The angel was rather small, shorter than Link but with great black feathered wings. She had a delicate face that housed a pair of exotic almond shaped eyes by the color of ink. Her dark red hair usually reached her shoulder blades but was at the moment tied up in a messy bun. Link's hand tentatively reached up to her own hair which was by means longer – by now the longest strands reached her waist.

Gimel smiled at the angel and when he thought Link didn't notice he quickly leant forward and gave Chiyo a quick kiss. Link smiled fondly as she noticed it in the corner of her eye. The two had been instantly taken by each other when they had first met, but they were taking baby steps with their relationship. Gimel still didn't quite acknowledge their relationship to Link, afraid that the Heroine might be offended. Far from it, Link was happy for him since it meant that the farmer wasn't alone at his ranch any longer.

"Well, Gimel," Link then started and turned to him – noting in amusement how the farmer quickly stepped away from Chiyo – "if we're done for today, I'll be on my way."

Gimel nodded. "Right. Well, thanks for the help. Though…" his eyes drifted over to Angel, who eyed a passing bumblebee in suspicion, "…it's a shame we didn't make any progress today. You know, I've been thinking," he added and snapped his gaze back to Link again, who raised one eyebrow, motioning for him to continue.

"I think there's too much distracting Angel here on the ranch. If someone would ride him outside the ranch I think he might calm down. Just long walks on the field, basically."

"I'll do it," Link immediately said, and both Gimel and Chiyo looked a little surprised at her quick response. But Link knew exactly why she had jumped at the chance. She needed things to do, because if she didn't… the more time she would have to think of her nightmares. And she didn't need that.

"Oh… okay, then," Gimel then smiled, but the smile did not reach his eyes. They looked worried, like he could see that Link was troubled. This was why Link decided to flee. She whistled for Epone, said her goodbyes and quickly left the ranch.

_This can't go on, _she thought as Epone's gentle canter slowly led them over Hyrule field. She couldn't pretend forever that things were 'peachy'. If Gimel didn't, Sheik would soon figure out something was wrong. If Link thought she was a terrible liar when talking to Gimel then she was even worse when with Sheik. There was simply no way of looking into his crimson eyes and not telling the truth.

Feeling more worse with each of Epone's leaps, she finally slowed him to a trot as she entered the city. She couldn't let this go on, but how was she going to solve it? She didn't even know what was wrong with her in the first place! The little she knew was what she had assumed after Gilraen's behavior up in the Sacred Realm.

'_Be gone, Evil!' _

Link shuddered, even though the sun was beating down hard that day.

She eventually reached the castle where she released Epone into a small paddock and then made her way into the building with heavy steps. She had just entered the hall and was debating with herself whether to go off in search for some late lunch or to just give up and go to her room and collapse on her bed, when she caught sight of something.

A flight of stairs led downwards with a marble sign next to it. _Royal Library. _

Link came to a halt in the middle of a step, hesitating. Heck, it was worth a shot. She stole a glance around her to make sure no one saw her and then quickly slunk down the stairs.

It was dark as she reached the bottom of the stairs, but as she entered the large chamber the room illuminated by magic. The chamber was huge, with narrow corridors flanked by enormous bookcases filled with what seemed like books from all the corners of the world. Link's jaw fell open slightly. Well, if she didn't find anything here there was simply nothing that could be done about her problem she decided.

A few hours later Link was sitting down next to a bookcase, and the Heroine was barely visible due to the large piles of dusty books surrounding her. She was flipping through a particularly old book, whose pages seemed to crumble merely by her touch. So far, her search had proven fruitless. She had looked in every book she thought could hold any answers at _all _but so far… nothing. Sighing frustrated she slammed the book shut in her lap, causing a wave of dust to rise up at her and she was overwhelmed by a sneezing attack. She was forced to stand up in order to avoid all the dust while sneezing violently.

"Why do I even _bother!?" _she finally shouted as she was tired, frustrated and angry and kicked furiously at the nearest bookcase. She didn't realize her mistake in time, though.

The large bookcase swung backwards, teetered dangerously before swinging towards Link and dumped its contents – hundreds of book – upon her.

Link shrieked in surprise and a fraction of a second later she was buried by hundreds of heavy books followed closely by a cloud of dust.

"Typical, just _typical," _she groaned in a muffled voice as she struggled against the pile of literature. She finally resurfaced, causing several books to tumble down the pile. "Bloody-"

Her words died away as her eyes suddenly caught sight of the text in a nearby book which had fallen open.

_Known for its dealings with souls and spirits, the Tribe of Shadows is as mysterious as it is legendary. With magic unknown to anyone but members of the tribe they are said to be able to drive out souls of people or to create magic beings by giving the soul life. _

Frowning, Link managed to get a hand free to pull the book closer to her as she continued to read.

_No one knows where the Tribe of Shadows reside or if they even exist, but people who claim to have had dealings with them say to seek them out in the north. The general belief is that they hide in the Hylian Mountains, though this has never been confirmed. _

The text ended and Link frowned. The Tribe of Shadows? She had never heard of them. But they could control souls… what if it was something wrong with Link's soul? Could these people – the Tribe of Shadows – hold the answers to her questions?

"Look at you… the weight of knowledge just crushing down upon you."

Link didn't have to look to see that Sheik was leaning against a bookcase, arms crossed and wearing a grin, watching her in amusement.

"Not funny," Link shot back as she struggled to free her limbs from the books, clutching the book with the Tribe of Shadows in her right hand. Sheik chuckled softly as he sauntered over to her.

"What are you even doing down here? Since when do you like to read?" he inquired, and before she had a chance of hiding it he plucked the book from her palm.

"The Tribe of Shadows?" he asked, glancing up from the book to give her a curious look. "Why were you reading about them?"

But Link could see that there was something strange in his look, and she didn't answer right away. Mostly because she had no answer. Save for the truth, which was out of the question.

"You do know they were the ones who created the Shadow Riders?" Sheik then continued, and Link looked up in surprise. Far too well did she remember the Shadow Riders, terrifying creatures in black robes, spreading fear all around them…

She eyed him, wanting to ask him how he knew that. There was something he was not telling her about them, but she was afraid that if she asked him he would demand why she wanted to know about them. A silent agreement formed between them as Sheik put the book back in the nearest bookcase and started to walk away before turning to look at Link.

"You hungry?" he asked, smiling, though like Gimel the smile didn't reach his eyes. _He knows, _Link thought in alarm, _He knows something's wrong. _

"Yeah, I'll be right there. Just… dropped one of my bracelets in the pile of books. I have to dig it out," Link quickly lied.

Sheik nodded slowly, lingering for another moment as a shadow of worry passed over his eyes. But to her relief he then drifted away towards the stairs.

Immediately Link sprang to action. She pulled out the book again, flipped through it until she found the page with the Tribe of Shadows and ripped it out. Folding it neatly she then tucked it into the pocket of her shorts as she then jogged after her fiancé.

* * *

**Hope you like it! Please drop a review! **


	4. Lies

**The Heroine: Twin Soul**

_Lies _

It was silent in the Temple of Time. Link was standing in the archway to the room of the Master Sword, her shadow falling over the pedestal. It was empty. She turned her head slightly to the left and laid her eyes on her sword. It was still lying on the marble floor, untouched.

Tentatively she drew closer to it, her thin leather boots echoing muffled footsteps through the chamber.

_Untouched. _

She stopped before it, hesitating. Then, kneeling, she bit her lip uncertainly. She then frowned, as the sword seemed to look back at her innocently.

_This is ridiculous, _she thought. _I am the Heroine, no? Of course I can touch my own bloody sword! _

With determination she then grasped the hilt. A beat passed where a triumphant smile entered her face. But the next moment she felt a pain so fierce she was forced to cry out in pure agony. Still, she desperately squeezed the hilt.

"No!" she grunted between gritted teeth. "I refuse to believe it! I _am _the Heroine!"

But finally unable to hold on she threw the sword away with a shout – half in rage and half in aguish. The metal blade clanked loudly as it hit the marble wall and fell to the ground. Then it lay still again and silence settled.

Sinking to the ground Link felt the familiar thickness in her throat as she was about to cry. Opening up the palm where she had touched the Master Sword she saw a blistering red burn mark. A salty tear landed in the middle of her palm, stinging slightly.

"I _am _the Heroine…I _am…" _

But her voice sounded so uncertain even to herself. A wave of panic washed over her. _What am I going to do? What _can _I do? _

But just as she about to drown in her miserable thoughts there was a sound from outside the castle. A horn.

Immediately she snatched her head up. It was the horn of the Hylian army. The horn blown when they needed the Heroine. Immediately drying her tears Link got to her feet and sprinted out from the chamber, leaving the Master Sword untouched.

-------------------------------------

"What is it?"

The General turned in the saddle of his grand chestnut mare as he heard Link's voice. He did not answer right away as the Heroine slowed Epone from a gallop to a halt next to him. The General, along with some of his closest men were standing by the base of the mountains – the mountains were Ganondorf's lair had been some years before - waiting for her. She tugged on Epone's reins as the stallion seemed unable to stand completely still.

"Epone, we've been tiding together for three _years _and you _still_ bug me?" she complained. The horse simply snorted in reply and finally settled down. Link looked up to see the General eyeing her curiously and she smiled a bit sheepishly, cleared her throat and repeated her question.

The General found himself. "Moblins, in the valley beyond the mountains. I believe the old evil in the mountains have attracted them- what happened to your hand?"

He broke off and Link suddenly realized that all of the men were staring at her hand which she had bandaged, but now she realized it had bled through.

"Cut myself," she lied, catching the eye of Kratos – who was one of the men assembled. A shadow seemed to cloud his eyes for a moment but then disappeared.

"Ah, well then, shall we?" The General asked and not waiting for an answer he urged his horse up the steep path leading over the mountain. His soldiers followed with Link and Kratos forming the rear.

"So…" Kratos said in his casual voice, "what happened to the Master Sword?"

Link's eyes widened in alarm at his words, only to realize that the sword she had as a spare was well visible in its scabbard by Epone's saddle. It was certainly not the Master Sword, a plain steel sword though a little thinner and lighter than ordinary ones.

"It's… at the smithy. It needs repairing," she lied, knowing full-well that he wouldn't believe her. They both knew the Master Sword would rarely – if ever - break.

Deciding the best option for now was to avoid unnecessary questions Link urged Epone into a canter as they reached the summit and advanced past the General. She slowed Epone to a halt as she spotted several dark figures further down in the valley huddling by what seemed a slaughtered deer. Frowning - irritated by their cruelty - Link determinedly dismounted Epone and unsheathed her sword.

She heard the General call out to his men to follow her but she ignored them. Somehow these Moblins had stirred a rage in her and she hadn't been angry for a long time.

It didn't take long for them to spot her. One of them cried out in their own tongue, waving his primitive club in the air. Link twisted the sword in her palm, narrowing her eyes challenging against them. Then they made the mistake to rush her.

The fact that her sword wasn't the sharp and mighty Master Sword didn't exactly bother Link as her blade clashed together with one of the Moblin's clubs. Momentarily locked together Link instead used her elbow to hit the Moblin in his face. He stumbled back, clutching his nose – at least Link though it was his nose – giving Link time to defend herself against another Moblin advancing towards her.

It was a smooth battle; Link moved swiftly, taking out the Moblins one by one and she had yet to receive a single blow. By now the other Moblins had surrounded her but out the corner of her eye she saw Kratos coming to her aid, taking out the ones preparing to ambush her.

She felt surprisingly calm: it felt good to have all her worries and anxiety be put into her fighting instead. Maybe she could just forget all her troubles from now on –

She didn't finish the thought as she suddenly failed to block her opponent's blow. His blunt blade cut into her stomach, only wounding her slightly, hardly more than a cut. But something snapped inside her, a rage flared up within her, a wrath she had never felt before. It filled her with a blazing power she was unable to control.

With an angry shout she attacked the Moblin who had injured her, driving her sword into his face with his blood splattering all over Link's clothes and head. Before the Moblin had fallen to the ground she cut his head clean off and piercing her sword through it she hurled it away at the group of Moblins left. They all became unnerved by having their dead member's head thrust at them and as they looked up again they saw the Heroine hurling herself at them in pure anger.

Kratos pulled out his long blade from a dead Moblin and looked up to see Link taking on several Moblins by herself. He frowned; there was something wrong with the way she fought. She didn't kill them in the calm way she had earlier. Now she was attacking them in rage, intent on hurting them as much possible before killing them.

Casting a glance at the soldiers, who were all looking uneasy at her cruel behavior, Kratos made his way towards Link. By now she had killed all the Moblins and ramming her sword repeatedly through the dead body of the Moblin who had injured her. She was panting heavily and the sweat was gleaming on her forehead.

"Link," Kratos started, but she appeared like she hadn't heard him. His brow furrowed even more.

"Link," he repeated, but again, no reaction. Just what was the matter with her?

"Link!"

Getting no reaction for the third time he walked up to her and grabbed her shoulder. With a mad shout she spun around with her fist swinging towards him. The man reacted fast and caught her fist in his palm but was shocked to see Link's expression. It was murderous, so unlike her usual happy face, and her eyes flared in malicious red.

"Link!" Kratos exclaimed – more than a little baffled – and quickly added "It's me, Kratos!" as the Heroine seemed not to recognize him and was about to attack him with her bloody sword. Her grabbed her shoulders and gave her a shake.

"Link, it's Kratos!"

Suddenly she froze for a moment, her expression softening and her eyes returning to their normal blue. She seemed dazed. "Wh…what happened?"

Kratos worried eyes were searching her gaze. "Link. Link, what's wrong?"

Suddenly the girl seemed to remember. Instantly her eyes were filled with terror and she grabbed Kratos sleeves with a weak grip.

"Kratos…I…" she started to say something to him, but then seemed to change her mind. "Kratos… don't… don't tell Sheik…"

And with that the Heroine's eyes fluttered closed and she went limp in his arms. A beat passed where Kratos slowly felt dread fill him. Something was dangerously wrong with Link.

----------------------------------------------

_Link was standing face to face with Ganondorf. Everything around them was black, cold… infinity. _

"_You can fight me all you want, Heroine…" The Evil King began as he noticed Link raising her sword. "But you cannot win." _

_Frowning, Link lowered the Master Sword. Ganondorf chuckled. "You know it too." _

"_What..." Link began, but hesitated. Then she bore her gaze into him. "What have you done to me?" _

_He laughed out loud. "You don't remember, do you?" _

"_But that doesn't matter now, does it? Because they all know, did you notice that?" he then asked when he had calmed. "You tried to hide it from them… but all your friends know that something is wrong with you." _

_Link's eyes widened in fear. "You are wrong." _

_Ganondorf chuckled again, but did not reply. _

"_There is nothing wrong with me!" she shrieked and Ganondorf's eyes gleamed maliciously. _

"_They know… and they don't trust you. How will you explain this? That you have become evil?" _

_Suddenly Gilraen appeared, his grey eyes cold as he looked at Link. "Be gone, Evil!" he shouted and Link recoiled in shock. _

"_What did you do to me?" she asked Ganondorf again, but he started laughing. _

"_What did you do to me!?" she shrieked, but Ganondorf's laughter rang out, filling everything, consuming her… _

---------------------------------------

Link shot open her eyes but was immediately forced to shut them again as she was blinded by the light. She dared to open them again, this time squinting, and found that she was in her own bed with the afternoon sun shining in through her window.

"Welcome back," a soft voice said and she turned her head to the right.

Sheik was leaning to the bedpost, eyeing her with his soft eyes. As always when greeted by this sight Link smiled. The Sheikah returned it briefly but then walked over to her and sat down on the bed beside her.

"How are you feeling?" He was searching her gaze but she decided to close them to escape it. "Kratos said," he then added and she snapped them open again in alarm, "that you were fighting and suddenly fainted." He looked like he wanted to add _But I don't believe him, _but refrained from it.

"Link, you haven't been sleeping at all the last few days. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Link lied, sitting up. She was still in her clothes – long dark blue shorts and a green tunic. "I'm fine."

"…I know you are lying."

Link froze – half-way through putting on her knee-length brown boots – and felt her heart sink. Of course he knew. He was a bloody Sheikah, why wouldn't he see right through her?

She sat up, slowly. "It's just…" she looked into his worried eyes. "Lately I… I have been having nightmares. About my battle with Ganondorf, in the Sacred Realm. That's why I can't sleep."

She felt awful about lying to him, but she wasn't ready to tell him the truth. Not until she knew herself what was wrong with her.

Sheik took her hand. "You never told me what happened up there."

"I haven't told anyone," Link confessed. "That's because…" she met his eyes, "not even I know what happened up there."

She said nothing more to him about it as she escaped it by pulling him close and kissing him. She felt bad, evil, cruel for lying to him and leading him on false ways. But she couldn't tell him.

His lips were soft and for a moment she took comfort in them. She could handle this. She would make things alright again.

----------------------------------------------

"You're not serious."

"I am."

"No, you're not!"

"Do you accuse me of lying?"

"Yes!"

"When have I ever lied to you?"

Link fell into guilty silence as they were walking down the great stairs in the castle. But then The Heroine screwed up her face and looked at the Sheikah.

"But seriously, did Kratos actually say that?"

Sheik nodded. "He did, when we inspected the border."

"He thinks Zelda is _cute?" _Link hissed, afraid the whole kingdom would hear her if she dared to speak louder.

Sheik shot her an odd look. "Why is this so hard to believe?"

For several reasons, Link thought. First of all, she never thought they had a thing in the first place, second of all, since when did Kratos speak to Sheik about his feelings? And about women nonetheless? And since when did he use the word _cute?_

"Are you sure Kratos used the word _cute?" _

But the Heroine immediately started coughing to disguise the fact that she had been speaking as she spotted the object of their discussion – not Kratos but Zelda – in the hallway. Sheik raised an eyebrow but at the same time smiled lovingly at her.

"Hello, Zelda," he greeted and the Queen looked up, surprised. She appeared not to have noticed them, lost in her own thoughts as she had been while holding an adorable little pink rose in her delicate fingers. She blushed and quickly hid it behind her back.

"Why, hello Sheik! Oh, and Link!" the Queen greeted hastily.

"Hi Zelda," Link said, very careful to avoid the Queen's eyes. "We were not talking about you, by the way," she added bluntly."

Sheik raised his eyebrows at the two women who seemed extremely awkward. Link was studying the ceiling like she found the stone extremely interesting and Zelda was shifting her weight frequently, hiding the rose behind her back with everyone pretending like they hadn't seen it when they all knew who it was from.

The strangest silence Sheik had ever experienced settled, until Zelda finally found herself.

"Oh, Link! I heard about your accident. How are you feeling?"

Relieved by the change of subject Link started babbling. "Oh, fine, just fine. I haven't been sleeping, but I-" but when she locked eyes with the Queen she instantly felt the words choke in her throat.

Zelda was staring at her in fear, as if she was seeing someone entirely else in Link's stead. A coldness gripped Link, freezing the blood in her veins. Why was this so familiar?

Instantly the image of Gilraen appeared in her head. _"Be Gone, Evil!" _

_Oh, Goddess…. _

"I… have to go."

Link barely finished the sentence as she sped off, away from Zelda and Sheik. Zelda frowned, not quite believing what she had just seen in Link. Sheik frowned as well, but not for the same reason. He was confused, watching his love as she ran through the doors in panic. For once he didn't quite understand what was going on inside Link. What was the matter with her?

-------------------------------------------

_Goddess, she knows…. She knows! _

Link sped through the city of Hyrule, not daring to stop. Zelda had acted exactly like Gilraen up in the Chamber of Sages. She could see something inside her… only Link didn't know _what! _

Coming to a halt she leaned against a house wall, sliding to the ground. There was no way she could keep this a secret any longer. Something was different with her soul, and now Zelda knew. She had to _do _something!

But where could she go?

As answering her question, Link was suddenly aware of that was something in her pocket. Frowning, she picked out a piece of crumpled paper. Carefully unfolding it she found herself staring upon a pair of words she had come to forget: _The Tribe of Shadows. _

----------------------------------------------

Gimel was whistling a cheery tune as he walked over the field in his ranch carrying two heavy buckets of water. The heat, as well as his horses, were consuming water faster than he could carry it, it seemed. He smiled as he saw Chiyo tending to one of the horses by the stable, her black wings gleaming in the sunlight.

"I hope you are aware of that you're not allowed to leave this ranch until you have stayed for dinner," he said as he approached her from behind. She turned, smiling, and her beauty overwhelmed the farmer.

"Well, then," she said softly, tracing his collar with her fingers, "you're in luck. Because I was planning on staying."

The farmer smiled as her fingers grasped his collar and pulled him closer.

"Stay forever," he whispered before meeting her lips. A moment passed where nothing existed but the two of them, but suddenly a look of surprise crossed Gimel's face.

"Link!" he exclaimed, jumping back so fast that he almost lost balance.

The Heroine was on her way out from the stable, barely noticing the farmer and the angel, as she was walking with Angel in tow.

"Oh," she suddenly stopped – looking slightly confused and tired – and greeted them.

"Link?" Chiyo asked softly, "Are you alright?"

"Just fine," she quickly said. Then she turned her gaze to Gimel. "I was thinking about taking Angel for a walk," she said.

Gimel frowned. Something was obviously wrong. "Oh…alright then," he then agreed.

Link smiled, tiredly. "I won't be long."

And then she mounted Angel – after little protests – and paced out the ranch.

_No, I won't be long… I'll be back as soon as I have some answers._

* * *

**A/N: Hi guys, please don't kill me for the wait! It's just that now that school's started I've been forced to cut down on the writing.. .so sorry! Will update as soon as I can! **


	5. Last Piece

**The Heroine: Twin Soul** _  
_

_Last Piece_

The green fields slowly changed into mountains and the temperature dropped, as Link and Angel made their way north of Hyrule. Every time the stallion exhaled fog appeared which seemed to amuse him to no end, which of course led him to snorting loudly every other second just to see the mist erupt from his nostrils.

Link, her gaze fastened steadily on the mountains ahead of her, couldn't keep the tired sigh from wrenching its way from her lips.

"It wasn't funny the first hundred times you did it either…"

Needless to say, the stallion ignored her unashamedly.

Muttering absentminded curses – mainly directed at the by now loud-snorting devil of a stallion beneath her- Link soon noticed how snow started to appear on top of the mountains ahead of them. They had to be far north now.

Bored again, Angel suddenly tossed his head and started trotting, catching Link off-guard who was forced to grab onto his white mane to stay in the saddle, in what Link assumed was a pretty good shot at throwing her off so that he could bolt for King and country back home.

Sitting back with a stony expression, she tugged hard on the reins and the stallion reluctantly slowed to a pace again.

_I should've taken Epone…_ Link cursed herself, but she suspected that if she had it would've given birth to questions as to where she was going. She already had a reason to ride Angel after all. And then again, she did not want to worry anyone.

Looking up at the sky she noticed that it was going on late afternoon. She really did not want to be gone too long so she loosened a bit on the reins. Angel immediately took the opportunity and started trotting up the slope, bringing them further up the mountain and into the cold.

----------------------------------------

The dark grey coat of Uraeas glimmered in the bright sunlight. The brush in Sheik's hand moved in soft streaks over the slender horse, though his action was merely of routine: the Sheikah's thoughts were far away.

He was not sure what had happened between Link and Zelda a mere few hours ago. He asked Zelda, but she tactfully avoided the question and then excused herself. He didn't even have the chance to ask Link what is was; the Heroine had bolted and now he couldn't find her. Finally he had found Gimel who said she was out with Angel.

Suddenly Sheik heaved a sigh and put the brush down. Why couldn't Link be honest with him? Something was seriously worrying her, but Sheik was always the last one to know. He knew full well she was having nightmares and when Kratos had told him about her fainting while fighting there was something in the warrior's eyes that had told the Sheikah something else.

But what was it that made Link so determined not to tell him?

He let his gaze flutter to the ring on his left hand, losing himself in the thought of Link. Finally Uraeas turned her delicate head and nudged him, causing him to resurface from his thoughts.

With a sigh he then picked up the brush again and continued working on his mare's already flawless coat.

--------------------------------------------

The snow was deep, causing Angel to leave footprints behind him. The temperature had dropped significantly, and not even the thick fur cape Link had brought with her managed to warm her.

Several hours had now passed since she had left the Lon Lon Ranch and she was beginning to realize the book about the Tribe of Shadows was far from accurate. The Hylian Mountains did not house this mysterious folk that could control souls.

Feeling disappointed and stupid Link tugged on Angel's reins and he came to a halt. She felt silly to even consider the words in that book. She had never stopped to think that maybe it was just a rumor and now she had wasted her time and efforts on this search. But still… She remembered Sheik speaking about them as if he knew them. He said they had created the Shadow riders… and when had Sheik been wrong?

She glanced at the engagement ring on her left hand. _Never, that's when._

However, with a sigh she decided to turn around and ride back again, hopefully making it home before nightfall.

"Come on, Angel, let's go back…"

She gently pressed the right rein, but Angel stood firm with his head raised, ears pricked forward, black eyes darting around in alarm. Something had caught his attention. Slowly, Link frowned.

"What is it, boy?"

They were silent for a moment, but there was nothing. Though this seemed strange to Link… not one sound could be heard in the valley. Not a bird or even a gush of wind. Link shuddered. _Eerie._

"Alright, Angel, let's go…" she shrugged, deciding there was nothing to worry about. But still the horse stood firm. She pressed her heels to his sides and clicked her tongue, but this only caused the young horse to spin around.

"Not again…" Link sighed, leaning back and urging him forward, but this only served to upset the horse more who reared and whinnied loudly.

"Dammit, Angel, _what_!?" Link finally demanded as his whinny echoed off against the walls of the mountains.

Of course, the horse did not reply, yet he had now stopped and was standing frozen, with every muscle tensing. This was odd, Link thought, like he was ready for flight… but from what?

It wasn't until then she heard it. Amidst the silence there was sudden rumbling. She looked up, alarmed, as the ground under them began to shake.

_What the…?_

Then she saw it. Snow. Tons and tons of snow tumbling down the mountain at high speed, right into the valley they were standing in. Link swallowed. _Avalanche._They could thank Angel's whinny for that.

Suddenly coming to her senses again she desperately urged Angel forth but he only kept on protesting, rearing yet again.

"Dammit, Angel, who cares who's in charge? Just go!"

It seemed to be the magic words. Angel took the bit and bolted. Grabbing on to his mane, Link managed to stay in the saddle as he shot forward like a bullet.

But the freshly fallen snow was slippery and all of a sudden Angel stumbled. With a yelp of surprise Link tumbled over his neck and landed in the snow. She was fast up again, but it was too late: she saw the rear of Angel as he bolted through the snowy landscape.

_Epone would have waited..._ was the thought that flew past in Link's mind and a mere moment later she was hit by the cold mass of snow. A fraction of a moment passed… and everything went dark.

It was not a big avalanche, but enough to bury Link and a good part of the valley. Eventually the thunder of the rushing snow faded away and all that remained in the air was the thin mist of snow that had not yet settled.

The valley fell silent again, looking exactly the way it had before Link and Angel entered. But then, out from behind the various large rocks scattered about the valley crept several dark clad figures, moving as silently and smoothly as shadows.

The figures – around some twenty of them – drifted down the valley until they all circled the spot where Link had been buried. One of them bent down and touched the snow with his hand and his black sleeve fell away to expose his dark sun-burnt hand. The cloaked figure looked up and with a nod from the other figures he dug down his hand into the freezing snow and when it resurfaced again he was gripping the limp wrist of Link.

Without any seeming effort the man pulled the lifeless Heroine from the snow and placed her on the ground before the other hooded and cloaked figures.

His concealed eyes studied Link for a moment before turning his head towards another figure, standing by Link's feet. He seemed to be of higher rank of the other figures, merely by the power he illuminated. He was their leader.

"What should we do with her?" the first man asked the standing one.

There was a beat of silence as they awaited their leaders reply. He was watching the unconscious girl, and some of the men started shifting impatiently.

"She sought us out," he then said, with a surprisingly soft voice – it was the voice of a young man. "I see it is only fair that she is invited to our society."

----------------------------------------

Uraeas eyed her master suspiciously as he proceeded to unhook her bridle. He was not himself. At all. She buffed his arm once, bringing his eyes to her and she clipped one ear forward and one backwards, wordlessly asking him what was wrong.

It was hours later, they had been out riding for what seemed forever in order for Sheik to clear his head. Needless to say, it hadn't worked, so now he was releasing his grey mare into the paddock in by the castle so that she could rest.

He pulled the bridle of her head and she tossed her head once. However, instead of trotting away like she usually did she stood still, watching him.

"I wish I knew what was wrong…" he replied her searching gaze, reaching out to ruffle the curly locks hanging down her forehead.

A whinny caught both their attention and Sheik looked up, watching as Epone trotted up to them, ears clipped forward. Sheik knew exactly what the animal was thinking. _Where's Link? _

"No, boy, she's not here," Sheik said, gently patting the stallion's muzzle who snorted disappointedly before turning away.

Sheik watched the two horses gently sniff each other to then trot away further into the paddock and play, forgetting all about the Sheikah. He closed the gate and proceeded to lean to it, losing himself in thoughts. It was almost twilight, and Link still hadn't returned so what exactly was she up to? Gimel told him she was out training Angel, but for several hours? Something didn't quite add up…

He stood by the paddock until the sun finally dipped under the horizon and darkness fell. Then he finally gave up and turned away from the gate, walking away from the castle. There was no chance he was going to find sleep now so he decided to walk to the Lon Lon Ranch. His friend Gimel would always stay up late and company was something that could take Sheik's mind off things.

He had vaguely been aware of a presence in the castle watching him from one of the windows in the castle, but he had ignored it. What he didn't know was that it was Zelda, standing in her bedroom chamber, watching him with sad blue eyes. She too knew Link had been gone for far too long than her usual journeys with Epone. But that wasn't what worried her.

It was what she had seen in Link's blue eyes that morning.

She shuddered just thinking about it. She simply refused to believe it. It was supposed to be over; it should have ended with the war.

_Apparently not, _a small voice in her head said. The Queen closed her eyes as a familiar sense of dread filled her, something she hadn't felt since the days of the war. _It isn't over. It has never been over. It's been there all this time… _

_And I didn't see it. _

------------------------------------

The evening sky always had a soothing effect on Sheik as he wandered over Hyrule Field, his goal set on the Lon Lon Ranch.

Yet… there was something in the air. The wind felt a little colder, the rising moon felt a little paler and the birds were quiet. There was something foreboding in the air. It was unnatural to be gone for this long, Sheik thought as Link's face swam into view before his mind. What if-

It was then his feelings of foreboding were confirmed. Sensitive to sounds as all in his race were, he heard the hooves hammering against the grass before any Hylian would. He instantly spun around, locating a horse galloping in full flight towards him. Yet even so, he knew who it was before he saw him. He was just about to reach out and stop the bolting Angel, but then he froze as the stallion came closer and he had a better view of him.

His saddle was empty.

The whites in the horse's eyes were visible and his ears were laid back as he thundered past Sheik, barely even noticing the Sheikah. The stirrups were flying loosely around by his shoulders while he leapt forward, goal set on his home, the Lon Lon Ranch.

Left behind, still frozen with one hand stretched out, was Sheik.

The thoughts were racing through his mind. Where was Link? What had happened? Where had she gone, and more importantly, why had she fallen off? And… _where was she now?_

Then it dawned upon him. Who was it after all who would know? Someone that had seen something in Link that Sheik had not…

Wasting no time, the Sheikah spun around and dashed towards the castle as fast as his legs could carry him.

--------------------------------

Zelda was still sitting by her window, gently braiding her golden hair loosely as it was one of her routines for getting ready for bed. The moon was slowly rising outside and the night seemed to silence everything. That is, until the door to her chamber suddenly barged open. With a gasp she spun around, just in time to see Sheik burst into her room.

"Sheik, whatever is the matter?" she exclaimed, jumping to her feet. Her friend was almost drenched in sweat, panting heavily, like he had been running a mile a minute. However, it was his eyes that worried the Queen. They were wide with fear.

"What did you see in Link?" he demanded, voice for once rid of its usual softness and instead filled with… rage.

Zelda's pale blue eyes widened, and by mere reflex she replied. "I- I don't understand, what do you-"

"Don't lie to me, Zelda!" the Sheikah practically shouted and she was so surprised that she sat down again. The Sheikah started pacing back and forth but remained silent, giving Zelda enough time to gather herself again. She folded her hands together – a motion often she was seen doing – and demanded with a voice slightly smaller than before, "Sheik, tell me what is going on."

The man stopped, his back turned to her. He seemed to have calmed down, and his shoulders raised and sunk as he heaved a sigh. "I… wish I could. All I know is that there's something bothering Link. She has nightmares, she shows an unusual amount of rage while fighting and… she is definitely not herself." Sheik's last words were uttered while he rested his eyes upon his engagement ring. Then he let the air desert his lungs again and he sunk down on the end of Zelda's bed.

"I want to help her, Zelda. But how can I… when I don't even know what's wrong with her?"

A silence followed his question and he proceeded to sink his gaze towards the marble floor, his tousled blond hair falling down, shielding his eyes from Zelda's worried gaze. She was silent, eyeing the man in his open despair.

"…I… I know what's wrong with her."

Her voice was small barely more than a whisper, but it caused Sheik to snap his gaze to her. His red eyes were round with worry and she could more than well see the anger and disappointment in them for not telling him.

She stood up, turning to the window to escape his hard gaze as she continued.

"When I look into someone's eyes, I see their soul. For instance, when I look at you I see kindness and wisdom. When I look at Link I see a tremendous amount of bravery, love and" - she dared a smile- "stubbornness."

She could sense Sheik getting to his feet, brow furrowed, waiting for her to finish.

"But that is not what I saw this morning. When I locked eyes with her this morning… I did no longer see Link's soul in her. Well, I _did_in a way, but I saw something entirely different in her as well."

She turned to face the Sheikah, who was looking at her in shock, because the moment she opened her mouth to continue he finally realized what was happening. It all fell into place.

"Sheik," Zelda began, looking distraught, "…I saw Ganondorf."

* * *

**A/N: Finally!!! You guys have **_**no **_**idea how hard it was to finish this chapter. …er, well I guess you do, if the amount of time it took to post it was anything to go by…. Deepest apologies! **

**Anyhow, I hope the story will be easier to write now, seeming as this is kind of the end of the first part and the part coming should be a lot more fun to read **_**and **_**write. There will be a lot of new characters and we will hopefully see a different side of Sheik as well! And of course a whole new Link will be introduced as well… -evil snicker- **

**Thank you all for reading, and please drop of a review! ******

**//L**


	6. The Tribe of Shadows

Rouge

**The Heroine: Twin Soul**

_The Tribe of Shadows_

Link opened one eye, shortly followed by the other. At first there was nothing she could see, everything seemed dark around her, but she felt surprisingly calm. Then bits of her memory returned in flashes, hitting her like blows. The amnesia from her fight with Ganondorf, her aggressive mood swings, the lies to Sheik and Zelda's horrified face… The worries and anxiety Link had been rid of for three blissful seconds returned with full force. Closing her eyes, she forced the thoughts out of her throbbing head. Then she opened them again. Her vision was still a shadow, but blinking a few times her vision slowly cleared.

She was in a murky room, with a lantern as the only source of light. Groaning, the Heroine scooted up to her elbows to see if she could do a better job of locating herself. There wasn't a whole lot of furniture in the room; she was lying on a simple yet soft bed which had a crimson colored satin spread. There was a simple wooden table with two chairs in the same wooden material. The lantern was hanging from the ceiling, offering only limited light in the dark room. There were no windows.

As Link sat up she realized two things; the first was that she was alone in the room and the second was that someone had taken off her boots and placed them by the end of the bed. She was still in her same clothes however, fitted dark riding pants and one of Sheik's dark blue shirts.

However, this was not the thoughts nagging Link at the moment. _Where am I? _

She saw flashes of what had happened before she'd just passed out. The avalanche, Angel's disappearing form and then… nothing. Suddenly she froze. So how was it that she wasn't still buried in that avalanche? Had someone found her and brought her to this place? She shook her head; she couldn't imagine anyone living up in those mountains. Then her eyes widened. _Unless… _

She tried getting to her feet, only realizing she couldn't. Her hands had been tied behind her back, and as she put her weight forward she lost her balance and with a yelp fell to the floor. There she paused, letting the air escape her lips in a groan.

"Ouch… " _Whoever saved me from that avalanche doesn't seem that very nice… _

She attempted getting back on her feet when she heard something. Looking up, she located a wooden door and realized the sounds were coming from the outside. Then the doorknob turned.

The door slowly creaked open and a plump man shuffled in, followed by another man who was quite his opposite since his form was lankier. The first man was carrying a tray with a bowl on it with something edible in it, and the other man carried a jug of water.

The tall one observed the girl they had found earlier; who was lying on the bed with her back to them. He nudged the smaller man with his elbow.

"Hey, Barley, she's still out cold… what a sleepy-head," he remarked with a goofy grin.

The other man, Barley, sent him a look that seemed to shut the other man up. "The boss told us to leave it here and then get out, got that, Makal?"

Makal nodded in silence, his mousy hair falling into his eyes, and in silence they turned their backs to Link and put the food down, with Makal managing to spill out almost the whole content of the jug, a motion that was soon followed by a tired sigh from Barley.

"Honestly, sometimes you're so bloody clumsy I-"

He turned but broke off in mid-sentence, causing Makal to look up.

"You what?" he asked in a genuinely interested voice, until he noticed Barley's blank stare. He too turned around, and his mouth soon fell open. The bed was empty.

"O-Oi! Where'd she go?" Makal barked, raising a trembling finger to point at the bed, as if Barley hadn't noticed.

Simultaneously they snapped their heads towards the door. It was still open. With a shout they dived towards it, only to have it slam close from the other side, smacking them both right in their heads and they collapsed together in a heap.

"That'll teach you…" Link scoffed from the other side of the door that she had slammed shut with her back, now that her hands were unusable. "Don't tie up the Her…"

However, her voice died away as she took the time to study her surroundings and her jaw dropped as if a weight had been tied to it.

The air around her was scorching as she was in the desert. Hadn't she just been far north? However, the questions didn't win her full attention quite yet. She took one step forward, and realized she was walking on stone and looking down she realized it was the roof of another building. Link was standing in the middle of a desert city. Well, a ruined desert city, more like. It seemed to have been quite the sight though, before the rough flow of time and harsh sand-filled winds had worn the beautiful buildings down to nothing more than ruins, once colorful but now turned beige by years sandy assault.

Surrounded by a high mountain wall seemed to have protected the city no more, but as Link squinted her eyes she noted what looked like a temple, situated on the top of the mountain. But the strange part was it seemed completely intact. Even the colors on the stone were still there, rich blue, red, gold and green. It was beautiful, glinting in the sunlight.

The desert winds roared outside the city, but from where Link was standing it was eerie silent. Then she realized why; there was no one to be seen. The Heroine narrowed her eyes, her suspicion triggered. Something was wrong.

But she had barely finished her thought as one of the winds roaring outside the city swept in over her, consuming her and the air around her and battering her with coarse sand. Link raised a hand to protect her blue eyes, but to no avail: the rough gravel snaked its way through her fingers, seeping into her lungs and face. She staggered back, coughing violently to escape the suffocating sand. But just as soon as it had come, the wind died down.

Link opened her eyes, teary from the wind, and looking down she could see the sand had almost covered her so that she looked like one of the beige buildings. She was about to raise her hands to dust herself off, only to realize with a huffy sigh that her hands were still unusable. _Wonderful. _So she resolved to doing a shaking motion with her shoulders to relieve herself of the sand – a completely useless maneuver, by the way – and turned around at the same moment.

She froze in the middle of her motion, one of her shoulders slightly in front of the other as she suddenly stood face to face with a large dark-skinned man with a stony expression. He seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. His expression changed into what Link supposed was a grin as he took in her surprised expression. He was clad in nothing but lose black pants, cut off by his knees. Almost immediately Link located the sharp-looking sword in his palm. Link calculated her options quickly in her head, sizing the man up. She could either fight the man, which seemed like a stupid thing to do since a) he was large, angry _and _had a weapon and b) she still had her hands tied to her back.

So she resolved to her alternative. Fleeing.

And she would have too, it the man hadn't been so bloody fast and caught one of her recently useless arms and pulled her towards him, shifting his grip so that he held one arm over her throat – _hard, _Link noted – and his sword pointed to her waist. By now the two men from her room before had joined them and were watching them, both of them having equally large bumps on their foreheads. Link couldn't help to grin at that; at least she had achieved _something. _Though the triumph was short-lived as the dark man behind her tightened his grip.

"Hey! Let go!" she barked in her most demanding voice.

Her captor didn't reply, which was probably what Link had expected. He had sort of struck her as the strong, silent type.

"Fine then," she said between gritted teeth and proceeded to stomp his right foot the hardest she could. Like she had predicted he groaned and let go of her, but only so that he could grab her arm again and hit her. With his large fist. Hard. In fact, it was hard enough to send Link's world flying around her, which was why she allowed the man to drag her away.

As her vision gradually returned she could see more and more people were joining them, either appearing miraculously or slowly creeping out from the shadows of the buildings. Most of them were men but she noted a woman or two, but they were all looking at her with dangerous appearances. Some were hooded, a few were clad in colorful garbs yet the majority was wearing simple clothes that could stand the scorching heat that by now had Link sweating. Also, they all seemed to vary in race and appearance. Link tried glaring back at them best she could even though she was currently under the mercy of them. However, if her fast-beating heart was anything to go by, she realized she was also a little scared. _Just who are these people? And where the bloody hell am I?_

She was brutally forced out of her thoughts as the dark man threw her to the ground. She hit the rough gravel with a thud, skidding along a few inches and she grimaced as the sharp sand scraped her cheek. That would leave a nice mark, she observed bitterly.

"…Since when to we treat our guests like this, Moran?"

She was surprised by a new voice, and as she craned her neck she could see that she had landed by a pair of boot-clad feet. She couldn't see the man who had spoken but he had a surprisingly soft voice, leading Link to the assumption that he was young, maybe around her own age.

By the man's words the large man – apparently named Moran – roughly grabbed on to her upper arm again and pulled her to her feet. He did it with such ease and strength that Link almost stumbled backwards but Moran's firm grip had her standing still. Then her eyes landed on the man in front of her. And she dropped her jaw.

He was tall and well-shaped, and under his thin black shirt Link could sense the muscles rippling at his breathing. His face was smooth, the skin darkened by years in the hard sun with lean features. A wind took hold of his sun-bleached blond hair, which was tousled and short, with some strands twinned into tangled locks. A crimson bandana was tied over his forehead, with his bangs falling over it at some places. However, it was not the striking handsome features – though she noted them – that stunned Link; it was his eyes.

They were the deepest color of red.

"You… You're a Sheikah!" Link exclaimed in what she assumed was a very charming dumb-founded matter.

The small grin the man had been wearing developed further along his lips into a mysterious smile, but he didn't grace her with a reply. Instead he shifted his striking gaze to Moran, who seemed to shift under his gaze.

"Free her," the red-eyed man said smoothly.

Moran didn't obey at once, but met his leader's eye. "She will flee," he stated in a deep, heavily accented voice.

_Damn right I will, _was what Link _should _have thought, but she was still so stunned by the fact that she had met a Sheikah, whose race was said to be almost extinct. In fact, save for Sheik, Link didn't think she had _ever _met another Sheikah.

The Sheikah in front of her shifted his penetrating gaze to her again as he said, still wearing that knowing grin, "No, she won't. Now let her go."

His words seemed to snap something inside Link to life. Who was he to claim that he could predict her? So as soon as Moran had untied her hands, she narrowed her eyes and immediately proceeded in proving the Sheikah wrong. With lightning-quick reflexes she broke into a dash, goal set on sprinting past the Sheikah and away to freedom.

But as if he had seen the move coming, the Sheikah shot out his arm and grabbed her arm. Before Link had even realized this he then proceeded to pull her towards him and held her in a firm grip, his breath against her cheek. It was over so fast Link had barely registered that she was caught again. However, the Heroine wasted no time. She went to elbow him in the gut but again he predicted her move, catching her elbow in his other arm as he spun her around so that she was facing him. He was surprisingly strong and fruitlessly Link tried struggling against his grip. His moves were so smooth it reminded her of a dance, but the way he predicted her blows slightly unnerved her. His deep red eyes were far too close for her comfort as his grip tightened, holding her pinned to his chest.

He watched her with a bemused expression as she kept fighting him and uttering curses under her breath. Finally she became still in his grasp, panting heavily – but more from rage than fatigue.

"…are you done?" the Sheikah then asked in a tone that had Link's blood boiling in fury. His condescending tone was one thing she hated about being a woman. Men would always be physically stronger than her and boy did they know it.

"Not a chance," she growled and suddenly brought her head forward with force in an attempt to knock him. As predicted he saw it coming and sidestepped it, which was why Link at the same time threw herself to the other side and thereby managing to slip out of his grip. She ended up just beside the large dark-skinned named Moran. But he proved to be far slower than his master, which was why Link was able to grab his sword after landing a kick in his chest. Spinning around she then straightened her arm to point the tip of the sword to the Sheikah's throat. Only she know realized that he had done exactly the same move and they ended up pointing each other's swords at each other's throats.

Link was panting; her fierce blue eyes were positively alit with infuriation. The Sheikah's crimson eyes however were sparkling with mischief and he was wearing a playful grin. A beat passed where no one did or said anything. Only the fierce desert winds were heard.

Then the Sheikah's lips parted as he gave a low chuckle.

"Well done," his soft voice complimented - a statement that only served to fuel Link's suspicion and she narrowed her eyes to slits. "But I expected no less," he then added.

Link's eyebrows moved together as a look of confusion briefly passed her features. However, she decided to ignore the annoying Sheikah's cryptic comment and instead she parted her lips to demand in a fierce voice, "Who are you?"

By this the handsome man before her cracked a smile – a smile Link suddenly realized she had seen before – and he raised an eyebrow.

"You are asking who we are?" he chuckled. "I would think you would know that as you were the one seeking us out."

The men around her chuckled but Link ignored this as she frowned. "Are you saying…"

But the Sheikah interrupted her. "My name, since you ask so kindly, is Isael. And this," he said, gesturing towards his men and the city, "is the Tribe of Shadows."

--

Zelda's steps were hurried as she jogged through the corridors of the castle.

"Sheik!" she called. Her voice echoed off the walls empty halls in the night, but there was no reply. She wasn't surprised; the way Sheik had stormed out her room after she'd revealed the truth about Link wasn't exactly a sign that his actions would be rational and simply come when she called for him. But even though she was worried sick about Link she still had no idea where the Heroine was. And to have Sheik storming off after her in the middle of the night didn't seem like a wise idea.

But for all Zelda knew Sheik might already be on his way. So she needed help.

Coming to a halt she then abandoned her hunt for the Sheikah and instead steered her steps towards another room.

Kratos grunted, rolling over to his side. He had been at the ranch with Gimel and after working hard in the sun all day he craved for _sleep. _And he had been sleeping to, but suddenly something stirred him from the blissful depths of dreamland and he cracked open his eyes. There was the unmistakable urgent rapping at his door.

Muttering curses under his breath the man finally rolled out of bed, his disheveled raven hair standing on end, and wearing nothing but a pair of short black trousers he shuffled over to the door. He yanked it open, about to snarl an annoyed _What!? _at whomever dared to interrupt his sleep, only to have the words go up in smoke as he set eyes on Zelda, standing in the doorway in nothing more than her thin nightgown.

At first he thought it was only one of his many dreams he usually had involving the Queen. But then he noticed Zelda's anxious expression, which was far from the expression she would wear in his dreams.

"Kratos," the blonde royal began, "I need your help."

--

A million thoughts were running through Sheik's head as he moved swiftly through his room, gathering everything and anything he might need on his coming journey.

He, unlike Zelda, knew _exactly _where Link had gone. Far too well did he remember Link reading about the Tribe of Shadows in the royal library. Back then he had simply dismissed the thought, thinking Link would have no reason to have dealings with them. He had been wrong.

Cursing himself for his stupidity, he moved to collect his two knives lying by the bed and sheathed them in his belt. He _should _have cornered Link back then when he first realized something was wrong. But he hadn't.

And now Link was searching for them. Or worse, she was already with them.

As soon as the Sheikah had his packing ready he sprinted out his room and out in the corridor outside. He dashed through it, passing the door leading to Link's room, something that sparked further anxious thoughts. He _should _have told Link exactly what the Tribe of Shadows was. Perhaps then would she have refrained from going there. But he knew Link well. She was scared; too scared to tell anyone, which Sheik understood. Even he wouldn't have told anyone if he knew Ganondorf was within his soul. He didn't blame her for seeking a solution to her problems elsewhere. But things had taken a wrong turn. Sheik just prayed there was a way of going back.

During his frantic worrying he had reached the giant front doors to the castle. He burst through the oak doors, immediately setting his goal to the stables.

Uraeas and Epone both looked up, wide awake despite the late hour, and Uraeas greeted her master with a fond whinny. She watched as he moved through the gate to their paddock, carrying a saddle and a bridle. Shaking her head, always eager for a ride, she trotted up to the Sheikah, only to stop in confusion as he walked straight past her.

"I'm sorry, Uraeas," Sheik said apologetically as he passed her, giving her only a brief pat, "but trust me, this is a journey you don't want to accompany me on."

The mare clipped her ears back and then forth, watching perplexed as the man instead stepped up to Epone. The stallion seemed equally confused and clipped his ears forward, positioning himself straight in front of Sheik with his nostrils widened as if demanding en explanation.

"I know I'm not Link," Sheik said softly, rubbing the stallion's jaw as the horse sniffed the Sheikah with affection. The man was the only one save for Link who had ever ridden him, something that had earned both Epone's affection and respect. Then he looked the stallion dead in the eye. "But we're going to get her back."

Epone snorted as if accepting this mission and stood perfectly still as the Sheikah proceeded heave the saddle up on his back and bridle him. A mere minute later he had fastened his packing to the saddle and had swung himself up on his back. As his weight landed on Epone's back the stallion immediately curved his neck and shifted his weight to his hind legs and lifted his front legs slightly in a combination of a rear and an attempt to canter off.

But the Sheikah held him in as he suddenly spotted someone by the gate to the paddock.

A large black stallion snorted in slight impatience as his master sent Sheik a lopsided grin.

"Well hullo there, Sheik," Kratos greeted calmly, as if he'd been discussing the weather. "Mind if I join you?"

Sheik's face remained stern, something Kratos seldom saw in the man before him. "…This isn't an ordinary journey."

Kratos scoffed. "What is an ordinary journey?"

Sheik was silent for a moment. Then, after Epone had impatiently raised his hoof to scrape at the ground, he finally spoke again. "Do you know what the Tribe of Shadows is?"

A chilly gush of wind tugged at Kratos' red bangs as he frowned slightly. "Never heard of it."

"Good," Sheik said, as he eased the hold on Epone's reins who immediately started trotting, "it's best that way."

Epone hit gallop, passing Kratos who urged Zelon to follow the Sheikah. Soon they were both out on Hyrule field, racing over the grass with thundering hooves, their goal set to the desert in the southeast.

Back in her room in the castle was Zelda, looking through her window. Her expression was one of worry as he bright blue eyes followed the disappearing shadows of the two men.

**A/N: Hullo everyone! Sorry it's been a while, I've been working on some other stories so that's why it took so long! Anyhow, finally things are moving forward and the actual plot can begin. **

**SO, any reviews and comment will, as always, be appreciated! **

**Next update shouldn't take too long, but I'm afraid I can't promise too much :S**

**Lots and lots of love/ Lou**


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